Update on Status

There was a dramatic drop off in the volume of my blog posts recently. Much is related to the changes in my life.

In July, my job in Eau Claire ended. I spent the summer and fall looking for a new position. I also spent the time geographically relocating "down river" to New Orleans. On December 1, I started a new position. I am now a library consultant for the State Library of Louisiana. Part of my job is to serve as the State Data Coordinator.

I did have a personal revelation recently. When I started blogging, I was in a rut in my life. I was not particularly unhappy, but certainly not happy. More recently, I am much happier, and much busier. My personal time is taken up "doing things." I have a life outside the internet!

Working for a state library agency is interesting. I have gained a great deal of insight into why some things happened the way that they did in the two previous states I was a library director in. I am no longer a manager. There is a part of me that is very happy about that. My job pretty much begins when I walk into the office and ends when I walk out. (Except for conferences and when I am -- eventually -- on the road.)

So, don't expect as many postings as in the past. There will be less work-related. There will also be no political stuff....That is another post.

Job Hunting

Many of you know that this is currently a topic near and dear to my heart.

In catching up with my blog reading I found several posts which cover the topic, and most interesting to me, they were all by people I have met or know.

I was standing in Lowe's in New Orleans a few weeks ago, and started chatting with a guy wearing a T-shirt which said "Info * Bitch." Who should it be, but Cliff Landis. He handed me his Moo card, and I thought to myself, "I know that name....why?" I later read Karen Schneider's post which talked about Cliff's original list. [Now Cliff is an interesting person. Visit his site. He covers more than just library stuff.] Cliff is also a good enough person to be able to deal with constructive comments, and even posted a second time about the comments he received.

It was good to read Cliff's list and has reminded me of several points which I think I have let slip a little. As I send out cover letters and resumes, I am reminded of the importance of tailoring each letter, and probably need to do that more carefully than I have in the past.

At the same time, I am in a different place than those to whom Karen offers her wise advice. I am primarily looking at jobs where I would be the director, there is not a lot more "upselling" that I need to do.

As I work on my job search, I have found some good reminders.

I also ran across this great list from a college web site listing over 100 places to look for library jobs. [I am sticking it here mostly for me to be able to find it, but if it helps others, I am happy.]